Police ID hiker who died after fall on Appalachian Trail

Local police have identified the hiker who plunged 35 feet to his death at Race Brook Falls near the Connecticut border.

Sheffield Police Chief Eric R. Munson III said Thursday afternoon 28-year-old Benjamin Lewis of Newark, Del., fell on Wednesday while hiking with his brother at the falls along the Appalachian Trail.

Luke Lewis, 22, also from Newark, didn’t witness the fall as he was just ahead of his brother. The younger sibling wasn’t hurt.

Munson and state police from the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office returned to the scene, 1 1/2 miles off Route 41, to investigate the mishap.

“It was an unfortunate accident,” the police chief said.

Foul play has been ruled out, but Munson noted an autopsy will be conducted by a state medical examiner because authorities officially ruled the accident an unattended death.

The Lewis brothers were on a trip along the Appalachian Trail and were hiking the most treacherous section of the falls, according to local emergency officials.

More than 50 rescuers from seven communities responded to the mid-afternoon tragedy on Wednesday, with almost half ascending the hillside, reaching the victim who was still alive at the time.

Munson said they arrived to find a nearby group of students from Trinity College in Hartford, trying to save the man’s life, having just completed their wilderness first aid training. Two Eagle Scouts from Simsbury were also assisting.

As emergency medical personnel began to bring the severely injured hiker down to safety, he died as a result of serious injuries. Getting the hiker off the hillside took more than five hours.

In addition to Sheffield, fire and emergency personnel from Egremont, Great Barrington, along with Falls Village, Sharon, Norfolk, Cornwall and North Canaan, all in Connecticut, assisted in the rescue. A Life Net helicopter from New York was also on the scene, prepared to airlift the hiker to the nearest hospital trauma center.